Hooper Strait Lighthouse

Year Built

1867

Cost

$20,000

Type

Hexagonal house

Height

41 feet

Location

Chesapeake Bay Maritime Museum

Automated Year

1954

First Lit

1867

Lens Type

Fifth-order Fresnel lens

Fog Signal

None

Year Deactivated

1966

Color

White w/black lantern

Last Keeper - Date

George H. Leikam (1945 – 1954)

Description

Only the grounds where it is located are open to the public.

Brief History

•  The screwpile lighthouse placed in Hooper Strait consisted of a square dwelling surmounted by a lantern room, and it first exhibited its fifth-order light on the night of September 14, 1867.
•  On June 20, 1878, Congress appropriated $20,000 for a new screwpile structure at Hooper Strait.
•  In 1882, the station’s light, which was originally fixed-white, was outfitted with red sectors to warn mariners of shoals in the strait.
•  In December of 1954 the light was fully automated. The windows were boarded up and the dwelling was largely left to the elements.
•  The Hooper Strait structure waited out high winds and waves before arriving at its final home at Navy Point on November 9, 1966.